Workers in a San Gwann office block were startled out of their desks on Tuesday after a concrete bucket being hoisted by a crane at a construction site next door smashed into their terrace.

“I was gobsmacked; the impact shook us,” an office worker told Times of Malta.

“People often smoke on that balcony. Had we been unlucky, someone could have been hit and might have died,” they said.

The office worker said they and their colleagues were treated with nonchalance when they confronted the people operating the crane.

“They told us: ‘Why are you shocked, are you afraid of dying?’”

The employee, who works in an office at the Capital Business Centre in San Ġwann’s industrial estate, said there have been several issues with the construction site since the start of works.

The bucket chipped a wall on the office block's terrace. Photo: Facebook

Communication with the Building and Construction Authority, seen by Times of Malta, shows that several reports have been filed.

Last month, the BCA issued a stop work order as the owner of the construction site, Tony Spiteri of “Tal-Ħerba,” had been conducting works without the authority’s go-ahead.

“Please be informed that works on the site were halted on September 3 and fines were issued accordingly. A BCA clearance was reactivated on September 10 after all necessary documentation and declarations were submitted,” the communiqué reads.

The owner of the construction site, Tony Spiteri, denied that anything happened.

“It is completely untrue that we hit the parapet wall of the building. If we did, the low wall at the edge of the terrace would have been smashed to pieces,” he said when contacted.

But the owner of the Capital Business Centre spoke differently. 

The office block is owned by a parent company, TH Group, which is, in turn, owned by Antoine Spiteri. 

Antoine Spiteri is the son of Tony Spiteri, but the two men own and operate separate businesses.  

He said the crane in question was "operated by an independent contractor working on a neighbouring construction site". 

“We are in the process of conducting a full review with the contractors to ensure such an event does not reoccur. We have also ensured that the terrace has been inspected and is safe for use by tenants,” Antoine Spiteri said.

“We fully understand the gravity of the situation and are working closely with the relevant parties to rectify it.”

Questions were also sent to the BCA.